Artwork of the Day - Hawkins - Conflict

Weaver Hawkins (1893-1977)
Conflict
Oil on board
59 x 78 cm
no.1900

Weaver Hawkins’ pursuit of a singular and personal vision was greatly influenced by his experiences as a soldier during WWI. It was in this war that Hawkins lost the use of his right arm, only having partial use of his left. Travelling extensively throughout Europe, and to Nth Africa, Tahiti and New Zealand, Hawkins’ eventually settled in Australia in 1935. He developed a significant public profile in the Sydney art world from the 1940s, and during his lifetime held eight solo shows and participated in 250 group exhibitions.

Hawkins’ works are built upon dramatic colour contrasts, volumetric forms, and taut compositions that give a great monumentally to his subjects. His observation of light and movement was greatly influenced by Cézannes’ technique of mapping the geometry of natural forms through colour, and the modernist concern for the way forms are related to one another in their architectural context. Hawkins’ interest in physicality produced works that balanced figurative and abstract elements in order to express ideas of order and freedom. The work of Weaver Hawkins is represented in the National Gallery of Australia, Australian State galleries, The City Museum and Art Galley in Bristol, The National Gallery in Valletta, and in the collection of The First National Bank of Chicago.